Modular smart implement for precision agriculture

ABSTRACT

An illustrative modular smart implement for precision agriculture includes a chassis having a hydraulic system, a control system, and articulating tool arms that are adapted to releasably receive one of a tool attachment for working a crop and/or field, including precision planting, cultivating, thinning, spraying, harvesting, and/or data collection. A toolbar fixed to the chassis receives and supports the articulating tools arms. An alignment member and side shift actuator provide movement of a portion of the tool arms along an axis parallel to a longitudinal axis of the toolbar, and a lift actuator provide movement along a vertical axis.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a divisional patent application of U.S. Nonprovisional patentapplication Ser. No. 17/171,953, filed Feb. 9, 2021, and titled MODULARSMART IMPLEMENT FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/971,991, filed Feb. 9, 2020, andtitled MODULAR PRECISION AGRICULTURE IMPLEMENT; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/972,641, filed Feb. 10, 2020, and titled MODULARPRECISION AGRICULTURE IMPLEMENT; and U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 63/074,544, filed Sep. 4, 2020, and titled MODULAR PRECISIONAGRICULTURE IMPLEMENT; each of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to automated machinery, and particularly,to a machine vision enabled agricultural implement.

SUMMARY

The present invention may comprise one or more of the features recitedin the attached claims, and/or one or more of the following features andcombinations thereof.

An illustrative modular precision agricultural implement provides achassis having an electrical system, hydraulic system, control system,and modular smart tool arms that are adapted to releasably receive anyone of a tool attachment for precision cultivating, thinning, spraying,and/or data collection. The tool arm includes a precision mountingplatform for a vision system and the tool attachment and features alight weight and adjustable down force for precision ground followingand/or commodity plant following.

Additional features of the disclosure will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon consideration of the following detaileddescription of the illustrative embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying Figs.in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional elevational view of an agriculturalimplement 100 according to the present invention, taken along thesection lines illustrated in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a tool arm 300 of the agriculturalimplement 100 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a first side perspective view of a backbone of tool arm 300of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3B is a second side perspective view of a backbone of tool arm 300of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional top view of the agricultural implement 100of FIG. 1 illustrated in a first state;

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional top view of the agricultural implement 100of FIG. 1 illustrated in a second state;

FIG. 5 illustrates commodity bed 52 a cultivated with prior artimplements and commodity bed 52 b cultivated with the agriculturalimplement 100 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a bottom front perspective view of the chassis 102 of theagricultural implement 100 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the chassis 102 of the agriculturalimplement 100 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8A is an cross-sectional elevational view of the chassis 102 of theagricultural implement 100 of FIG. 1 with safety struts 190 stowed,taken along the section lines illustrated in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 8B is a front elevational view of the chassis 102 of theagricultural implement 100 of FIG. 1 with safety struts 190 extended;

FIG. 9 is a side perspective view of the tool arm 300 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a end side perspective view of the tool arm 300 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are a schematic diagram of a hydraulic system 150 ofthe agricultural implement 100 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of an electrical system 180 andcontrol system 200 of the agricultural implement 100 of FIG. 1;

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

For the purposes of promoting and understanding the principals of theinvention, reference will now be made to one or more illustrativeembodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will beused to describe the same.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cross-sectional elevational view, and FIG. 4A, across-sectional top view, an illustrative embodiment of modularprecision agricultural implement 100 is shown. Implement 100 includesgenerally a chassis 102, control system 200, and modular smart tool arms300. For clarity, FIG. 2 illustrates a modular smart tool arm 300separated from the chassis 102, and FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a chassis102 without any tool arms 300 attached.

Referring again to FIG. 4A, the illustrated implement 100 includes threetool arms 300, each of which include at least one agricultural tools forworking a crop and/or field, for example, a pair of tool attachments400. However, in other embodiments (not shown) fewer than three or morethan three tool arms may used with implement 100. Each of the toolattachments 400 includes a pair of actuating tools 410, in this examplehoes used for cultivating. In FIG. 4A, the tools 410 are shown in anopen position; however, upon actuation, each pair of tools 410 traveltogether, closing the space there between. In alternative embodiments oftool attachment 400, aspects of the tool attachment and the controlsystem 200 (computing and select other components of which may also bereferred to collectively as ‘controller’ herein) may be adapted toproviding intelligent tasks other than cultivation, for example,thinning, selective spraying, data collection, and possibly evenplanting and harvesting. Selective spraying can include actuation and/orcontrolled movement of to direct delivery from nozzles or other deliverydevices to apply wet or dry chemicals to commodity plants 60 or weeds70, selected varieties of each, or both. Advantageously, chassis 102 andtool arms 300 can be used thereby used with a number of differentmodular and releasably attachable precision tool attachments 400 inaddition to the illustrative tool attachment 400 disclosed herein.

Advantageously, chassis 102 can be propelled across commodity field 50using standard farm equipment, for example a tractor having a suitablepower takeoff (PTO) drive shaft and a hitch (not shown) to pull andoperate chassis 102. As will be discussed further below, the hydraulicsystem 150 and electric system 180 can both be powered by hydraulic pump152 driven by the tractor PTO.

To understand an illustrative application of the illustrative implement100 equipped with tool attachments 400 configured as a cultivator, refernow to FIG. 5. Commodity field 50 includes raised beds 52 a and 52 b,each bounded along the sides and separated by furrows 56. Anillustrative western specialty row crop, for example, romaine lettuce,is illustrated as commodity plant 60. Bed 52 a is illustrative ofcultivating to remove weeds 70 using traditional cultivator implements.Specifically, while weeds 70 grow within plant lines 62 in the spaces 74between the commodity plants 60 and in the spaces 72 between plantslines 62, traditional cultivating only reaches and cuts or otherwisedisrupts weeds 70 located in the spaces 72 between the plant lines 62.The reason for this is that with traditional cultivators, thecultivating blades or other tools are static fixed devices which woulddestroy commodity plants 60 along with the weeds 70, if employed alongthe plant lines 62. This limitation has traditionally been addressed byusing laborers to walk the beds 52 a and manually remove the remainingweeds 70 located within spaces 74 between commodity plants 60 of plantlines 62 with a hand hoe.

As illustrated in bed 52 b of FIG. 5, the illustrated implement 100equipped with tool attachments 400 configured as a cultivator can beused advantageously to weed both the space 72 between plant lines 62 andthe space 74 between commodity plants 60 within a plant line 62, alsocommonly referred to as a planting interval for a row or crop row.

As implement 100 is operated along plant lines 62 of commodity field50b, a control system 200, including a vision module 500 and perceptionsystem 270, classifies and locates each commodity plant 60 along eachplant line 62. By determining the center point location and/or bounds ofeach commodity plant 60 the blades 414 of cultivator tool 410 can beactuated to avoid damaging commodity plant 60.

The above listed and additional features of the illustrative implement100 will now be disclosed in further detail.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a chassis 102 provides a universal, smart,modular implement platform for a variety of precision agriculturalimplement applications. Chassis 102 generally includes a frame 110,wheel assemblies 120, a hitch receiver 140, a hydraulic system 150, andan electrical system 180. Frame 110 can include a front crossbar 104, arear crossbar or toolbar 106, and end plates 108. Additional features ofchassis 102 that also support the mounting and operation of smart toolarm 300 along with toolbar 106 include plant line alignment bar 196, andthreaded rod or screw 198, all of which will be discussed further below.A key distinction in the function of toolbar 106, plant line alignmentbar 196, and screw 198 is that the toolbar 106 alone supports the weightof the smart tool arms 300, while the screw 198 and the plant linealignment bar 196 respectfully merely adjust the position of and move aportion of each of the tool arms 300 along the x-axis 90.

Frame 110 provides a rigid and rugged structure for supporting othercomponents of chassis 102, including the wheel assemblies 120. Endplates 108, for example ½ to ¾ inch plate steel, are secured to the endsof crossbars 104 and 106, which may be, for example, 4 inch×4 inch×⅜inch wall tubular steel. The overall width of frame 110, particularlythe length of crossbars 104 and 106, is selected to accommodate a rangeof raised bed widths. For example, the distance between furrow centersfor some specialty commodities typically ranges from 40 to 82 inches.Such variations can exist within a single farming operation, therefore,the wheelbase span 138 of the centers of wheel assemblies 120 areadjustable to support operating chassis 102 for a range of different bedwidths.

The illustrative wheel assemblies 120 are modular and can be slidinglymounted along and then secured in a desired position upon crossbars 104and 106. Wheel assemblies 120 include generally support brackets 122, arear axle 124 supporting a rear wheel 126, and a front axle 128supporting a gauge wheel 130. The front axle 128 supporting the gaugewheel 130 is further supported by cantilever 132, which is pivotablyattached at pivot 134 to the supporting brackets 122. Advantageously,hydraulic cylinder 172 couples between frame 110 and cantilever 132 toadjust the height of gauge wheel 130 relative to frame 110, therebychanging the pitch of the chassis 102 about a longitudinal x-axis 90.The pitch of the chassis 102 is controlled in order to set the pitchangle of blade 414 of tools 410 that will be further disclosed below.For cultivating, it is expected that the blades 414 will be preferred tobe flat or to be slightly negative so that the leading edge of blade 414is lower than the trailing edge of blade 414 to sever and displace theportion of weed 70 above the cut on its root.

Advantageously, the wheel assemblies 120 can each be slid along thecrossbars 104 and 106 of frame 110 into a desired position for providingthe desired wheelbase span 138, and then can be releasably secured intothat position. Referring briefly to FIG. 1, the location of each wheelassembly 120 along the crossbars 104 and 106 can fixed and secured usingthrust plates 136. More specifically, as is visible for crossbar 104,crossbar 104 extends through openings 123 of supporting brackets 122.The thrust plates 136 include a pair of plates and a threaded tighteningsystem that enables the two plates to be separated and expanded betweenthe crossbar 104 and a side of opening 123, thereby thrusting andcompressing supporting bracket 122 and 104 securely into position. Thethrust plates 136 can be used along two adjacent sidewalls of crossbar104, thereby compressing and locking the crossbar into a corner of theopening 123, securing wheel assembly 120 in position along crossbar 104.As can be seen in portions of FIGS. 6 and 7, the same or similarcomponents and features can be used to secure the wheel assemblies 120to toolbar 106.

An illustrative hitch receiver 140 coupled to crossbar 104 can be usedto pull chassis 102 with a three-point hitch as is typically found onfarm tractors. The hitch receiver includes lower devises 142 and anupper clevis 146; however, other attachment and hitching systems couldbe used.

In order to isolate a range of rolling and pitching motions of thetractor (not shown) from the chassis 102, lower devises 142 include avertical slot to receive hitch pins rather than a standard bore. Theslots 144 allow the pins a range of travel, thereby allowing the tractorhitch to translate a distance up or down without displacing the chassis102 from being supported solely by the rear wheels 126 and heightadjustable gauge wheels 130. Similarly, upper clevis 146 includeshorizontal slots 148 for receiving and providing a range of movement forthe upper hitch pin for the same purpose.

Referring briefly to a schematic of hydraulic system 150 illustrated inFIGS. 11A and 11B, the hydraulic system includes generally a power takeoff (PTO) driven hydraulic pump 152 to power from a tractor pulling theimplement 100 the hydraulic system of chassis 102, hydraulic motor 154,reservoir 156, hydraulic oil cooler 158, distribution manifold 160,accumulator 162, and main regulator 164. Hydraulic motor 154 is drivenby the hydraulic oil pressure provided by pump 152. Hydraulic motor 154in turn drives, for example using a flexible belt, an electricalgenerator, for example, an alternator 182. Alternator 182, for examplean automotive type electric alternator, provides DC electric power forelectric system 180. Additional controls and actuators of hydraulicsystem 150 will be described below in further describing other aspectsof implement 100.

Electrical system 180 of chassis 102 can be alternatively powered byalternator 182 or battery 186. Additionally, alternator 182 is capableof charging battery 186. Electrical system 180 includes a powerdistribution and regulation module 184 (FIG. 12) that can provideregulated voltage, for example 12 V DC and 24 V DC, and voltage andcurrent transient protection. Electrical system 180 can also powerthermostatically controlled hydraulic oil cooler fans 188 and controlsystem 200, which will be described further below.

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional elevational view of chassis 102 with thecut-plane along the middle of crossbar/toolbar 106. Visible in this vieware safety struts 190 and safety supports 192, which are illustrated intheir stowed position within the toolbar 106. Advantageously, and asshown in the elevational view of FIG. 8A, each safety strut 190 can bepulled out from storage within a hollow tube portion of the toolbar 106such that the safety strut 190 is fully extended, and the safety support192 to which safety strut 190 is coupled about pivot 194 extends partlyfrom the toolbar so that the safety struts can be oriented verticallydownward. Thus, the safety struts 190 can be used to provide additionalsafety support of chassis 102, for example, when chassis 102 is elevatedoff of supporting wheel assemblies 120 by the three-point hitch of atractor coupled to hitch receiver 140. The material and load strength ofsafety struts 190, pivots 194, and safety supports 192, can be selectedto provide a significant margin of safety to support the weight ofchassis 102 and all implements that may be attached to it.

Additional features of chassis 102 will be discussed further below,following a discussion of the modular smart tool arms 300 that can besupported and operated by chassis 102, for example, as is generallyshown in FIGS. 1 and 2A.

Referring first to FIGS. 2 and 2A, for numerous decades, a toolbar, forexample toolbar 106 apart from implement 100, has been the common pointof attachment for agricultural tools to configure an implement forparticular tasks and for particular commodity fields 50, whether it befor plowing, disking, planting, cultivating, spraying, harvesting, orchopping. In contrast, according to the present disclosure, the functionof prior agricultural toolbars can be provided and further improved uponby the illustrative tool arm 300 and the tool platform 370 (FIG. 10)provided therewith. Advantageously, various tool attachments, forexample, the illustrative tool attachments 400 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11,can be releasably mounted to and operated by tool arm 300 at toolplatform 370. Various aspects of chassis 102, control system 200, andtool arm 300 provide for modular, repeatable, precision in theconfiguration and intelligent operation of tool attachments 400.

The tool arm 300 is modular in part in that it includes a mountingstructure, for example, mount 310 which enables one or more tool arms tobe releasably secured to toolbar 106 of chassis 102, for example, asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2A. The tool arm 300 is also modular in partbecause of the tool platform 370 and tool attachment 400 modularityintroduced briefly above and discussed more specifically further below.Tool arm 300 is smart (intelligent) in part because it can optionallyinclude a vision module 500 (FIG. 2), enabling intelligent automatedoperation of tool attachments 400 and optional data collection regardingcommodity fields 50, both of which will be discussed further below.

An important aspect of the precision of tool arm 300 is the design andmanufacture of a unitary or monolithic member for releasably mountingagricultural tools to, for example, a backbone 350. In the illustrativeembodiment shown in FIGS. 2-3B, the backbone 350 is milled from a singlealuminum billet, for example, approximately 1 to 1½ inch thick, whichlimits the weight of tool arm 300 while maintaining dimensionalstability required for a modular precision agricultural functionality.Backbone 350 can include a number of precision mounting features 364,including for example, the use of location and/or interference fittolerances in milling and adding features such as receiving bores,threaded bores, locating pins, recesses, and the like. These or otherprecision features may include with any of linkage mounts 356 adjacent abase end 354, tool mounts 360 adjacent tool end 358, a vision modulereceiving area 362, and a ground follower mount 366. These features arein contrast to prior art devices providing a tool attachment platformthat includes numerous members forming frames and other platforms thatlack uniformity of precision between one platform to another and/or thatlack dimensional stability and lack light weight that enables precisemotion control and ground following of the crop and field operationworking portion of the tool arm 300.

As will be evident from the above and below discussions of the operationof implement 100 using control system 200, it is particularly importantto maintain precise displacements between the vision module 500, theground follower 390, and the tool attachment 400, which is why all threeare modularly and precision mounted to a billet formed backbone 350.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, tool arm mount 310 includes sides 312, backspan 314, front span 316, clamp 320, and guides 322. Sides 312 arerigidly connected with back span 314 and front span 316. Thesecomponents can be formed, for example, from ¼-⅜ inch steel or otherrigid material. Sides 312 define an opening 318 which is sized toreceive toolbar 106 so that mount 310 may be secured thereon, forexample, as shown in FIG. 1. As shown for FIG. 4A, the clamp 320 can beused to fixedly secure mount 310 onto toolbar 106.

A system of adjustment left or right on toolbar 106 is included with themount 310 and can be utilized before clamp 320 is secured to more easilymove tool arm 300 into a desired position along the length of toolbar106. Referring to FIG. 10, sides 312 also define bores 324 that provideclearance for threaded rod 198 to pass therethrough. Advantageously, bylocating a pair of sleeves 326 around threaded rod 198 and between sides312, and locating a threaded adjustment nut 328 between the sleeves 326,small adjustments left and right to mount 310 along toolbar 106 can bemade. For example, by holding one of adjustment nut 328 and coupling 199from rotating, while at the same time rotating the other about threadedrod 198, the mount 310 will shift left or right depending on thedirection of rotation. For example, a coupling 199 is secured to thethreaded rod 198. If coupling 199 is held to prevent rotation whilethreaded adjustment nut 328 is rotated about the threaded rod 198, thenut will translate left or right on the thread, thereby translatingsleeves 326 and mount 310 left or right with it.

Referring again to FIGS. 9 and 10, backbone 350 of tool arm 300 iscoupled to mount 310 by articulating base 330. Advantageously,articulating base 330 provides translation of backbone 350 along thex-axis 90 and the z-axis 94 relative to mount 310. The x-axis 90 is theaxis parallel to the longitudinal axis of toolbar 106, and the z-axis 94is the vertical axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of toolbar106 and perpendicular to the working surface 58 of a commodity field 50.The articulating base 330 includes generally a linear slide table 332,linkages 342 and 344, and a lift actuator, for example, a lift hydrauliccylinder 346 for vertically supporting and translating backbone 350relative to the mount 310.

Referring to FIG. 10, linear slide table 332 includes linear bearings334 that translate along guides 322 of mount 310. More specifically,guides 322 can be hardened cylindrical rods that provide a precision andwear resistant surface for linear bearings 334 to ride upon. Thisconfiguration advantageously allows backbone 350 and attached toolattachment 400 to translate smoothly and precisely along the x-axis 90of chassis 102 particularly because movement of the excess mass thatwould be involved with translating toolbar 106, mount 310, and otheradditional structure such as frame 110 is avoided.

Still referring to FIG. 10, brackets 338 each define an opening 339sized for receiving therethrough a plant line alignment bar 196, as isshown in FIGS. 1 and 2A. Referring to FIG. 4A, advantageously, thelinear slide tables 332 of each of the tool arms 300 mounted to chassis102 can be each clamped to alignment bar 196 such that translation ofthe alignment bar 196 along its longitudinal axis, for example usinghydraulic cylinder 176 actuated by side shift valve 178, willsimultaneously and equally shift the slide tables 332 and attachedbackbones 350 and tool attachments 400 of each of the tool arms 300.

For example, referring to FIG. 4B and comparing it to FIG. 4A, in FIG.4B the hydraulic cylinder 176 has been retracted, shifting plant linealignment bar 196 to the left and translating with it the articulatingbase 330, backbone 350, and tool attachment 400 portions of the toolarms 300. The spacing of the tool arms 300 relative to each otherremains precisely the same. Additionally, the large mass components suchas mounts 310 of tool arm 300, toolbar 106 and other portions of frame110 and chassis 102 remain in place.

The movement of the least amount of mass as practical to precisely,smoothly, and quickly shift the tool attachments 400 left and rightovercomes various disadvantages found in prior machines. For example,the actuation of hydraulic cylinder 176 left or right can be used tocontinually and precisely align tool attachments 400 with plant lines 62of the commodity field 50 to account for shifts in plant lines 62 thatoccurred during planting and to account for shifts in the tractorpulling chassis 102. Additionally, the control system 200 may include aside shift position sensor 238 (not shown), for example a switchindicating when plant line alignment bar 196 is centrally located, leftof center, and right of center, or, alternatively, an absolute positionencoder can be used, either of which facilitate closed loop control ofthe position of plant line alignment bar 196 and thus the position oftool attachments 400 in alignment with plant lines 62.

Referring to FIG. 9, an illustrative four-bar linkage is formed in partby a bottom link 342 coupled between pivot 340 of bracket 338 andlinkage mount 356 at base end 354 of backbone 350. The four-bar linkagealso includes top link 344 coupled between pivot 340 of bracket 338 andlinkage mount 356 of backbone 350. Cantilever 348 is coupled to thelinear slide table 332 that brackets 338 are coupled to, and support anend of the lift hydraulic cylinder 346, the opposite end of which iscoupled to bottom link 342 approximately mid-span. As arranged,retraction of lift hydraulic cylinder 346 translates backbone 350 andattached tool attachment 400 vertically upward along the z-axis 94 to alifted or retracted position, as is shown in FIGS. 9 and FIG. 1. Inother embodiments (not shown) a different pivot and/or linkage structurecan be substituted for the four-bar linkage 336 to provide movementthrough the z-axis 94 for tool arm 300.

The lifted position of tool arm 300 is useful to secure the toolattachments 400 attached to tool arm 300 up and away from the ground,for example, when implement 100 is transitioning between commodityfields 50 or between the end of set of plant lines 62 and the beginningof an adjacent set. Additionally, if operating in a field 50 with fewerplant lines 62 per bed 52 than the implement 100 provides, then one ormore tool arms 300 can be selectively actuated to and locked, e.g.,manually/hydraulically or via system hydraulic controls 210, in thelifted position so that only those required for the number of plantlines are lowered and used, advantageously, without have to physicallyremove tool arm 300 or components thereof from implement 100. The heightof each tool arm 300 relative to the working surface 58 is set by theextension and retraction of hydraulic cylinders 346 for each tool arms300 attached to chassis 102.

In one embodiment, the height is controlled by controlling thecontinuous hydraulic pressure applied to each end of the piston of lifthydraulic cylinder 346. In another embodiment, the height is controlledby controlling the continuous differential of the hydraulic pressureapplied across the ends of the piston of the lift hydraulic cylinder346. In yet another embodiment, discussed further below, the height iscontrolled by setting a continuous regulated hydraulic pressure to oneend of the piston of the lift hydraulic cylinder 346, and bycontinuously controlling the hydraulic pressure applied to the other endof the piston of the lift hydraulic cylinder. For example, aproportional solenoid valve 170 (FIG. 11A) and analog pressure sensors(unnumbered, FIG. 11A) can be used as part of the control of thehydraulic pressure to control the height of the tool arms 300, as canfeedback from a height sensor 398 of tool arms 300 above the workingsurface 58, as is discussed further below.

For example, upon reaching the end of plant lines 62, the hitch of thetractor pulling chassis 102 can be used to lift it up by hitch receiver140. A lift sensor, for example, a pressure switch 218 (FIGS. 11A and11B) associated with gauge wheel hydraulic cylinder 172 can detect thatweight is off of the front axle 128 and activate a transit mode ofcontrol system 200, or a tilt sensor, accelerometer, ultrasonic sensor,or other motion, orientation, elevation, and distance sensor known inthe art may be used. Upon the control system 200 detecting via pressureswitch 218 that chassis 102 has been lifted, tool arm lift valves 170can optionally actuate hydraulic cylinders 346 of the tools arms 300 tolift them to the raised position, thereby providing clearance betweentools 410 and the ground. Additionally, if side shift position switch orencoder 238 detects the plant line alignment bar 196 is not mechanicallycentered, along with tool arms 300, then control system 200 actuatesside shift valve 178 and side shift cylinder 176 to a reset position,for example, the alignment bar 196 and attached tool arms 300 arereturned to mechanical center of the chassis 102 for the next operation.Additionally, control system 200 can deactivate the processing by visionmodule 500, perception system 270, and control of tool attachment 400 byruggedized controller 202 until the chassis 102 has been lowered andweight is again detected on front axle 128 via pressure switch 218,thereby pausing the working of a crop and/or field by an operation ofthe tool arms 300 at least until the chassis 102 is again lowered.

Returning to the discussion of tool arm 300, lift hydraulic cylinder 346also can be controlled during operation to lighten the downward forcetoward the ground of tool arm 300 due to the weight of the variouscomponents of the tool arm. By applying hydraulic pressure to eachactuation end of lift hydraulic cylinder 346, as introduced above, andindividually controlling each of those pressures, thus also controllingthe differential pressure, the amount of downward force operating oneach tool arm 300 is very dynamically controllable, and responsivenessto following changes in the soil profile/level in the bed 52 b for eachof the individual tool arms 300, as will be discussed further below inthe section further discussing the control system 200.

In a working or down position in which lift hydraulic cylinder 346 is atleast partly extended (not shown) the various tool attachments 400attached to the illustrative embodiment of the tool arm 300 areconfigured as a cultivator with a preferred operating depth of a shortdepth under the surface of the soil of bed 52. Referring now to FIGS. 2and 10, the ground follower 390 of tool arm 300 helps maintain thevertical position of backbone 350 along the z-axis 94 such that the toolattachments 400 supported by the backbone 350 remain at a preferreddepth or height relative to a working surface 58 of a field 50. In theillustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 2, ground follower 390 includes alever 392 pivotably coupled at a proximal end to the backbone 350,extending downward at an angle from the backbone, and coupled to adistal end of the lever is a ski, wheel, and/or other member forcontacting and following the working surface 58, for example, a roller396 rotationally coupled to the lever 392. In the illustrativeembodiment, the roller 396 does not support any weight of the tool arm300 within a normal range of motion through which the lever 392 pivotsas the height of backbone 350 above the working surface 58 varies;however, a stop 394, for example, an elastomeric bumper or the like,mounted between the lever 392 and tool arm 300 acts as a mechanicallimit to provide a limit to downward reduction of height of the backbone350 above the working surface 58, thereby limiting the range of downwardmovement of supported tool attachments 400 along the z-axis 94.

The illustrative embodiment also includes a height sensor 398, forexample an angular encoder, for determining the relative height of thebackbone and thus the working tools to the working surface 58. Forexample, the height in the illustrative embodiment is based on an leverpivot angle 399 of the lever 392 to the backbone 350, which changes asthe mass of the lever 392 and roller 396 keeps the roller 396 in contactwith the working surface 58 as a z-axis distance between the backbone350 to the working surface 58 changes. In other embodiments the heightsensor may be a ranging, accelerometer, or other sensor capable ofdetermining the relative height of the backbone 350 or tool attachments400 to the working surface 58.

The z-axis 94 location of the end of the various tool attachments 400attached a tool arm 300 are generally set at a desired height below thebottom of roller 396 and ski 398 for the illustrative application ofcultivation. By the control system 200 controlling the hydraulicpressure applied to a first port of the lift hydraulic cylinder 346 toprovide upward lift to backbone 350, at least a portion of theweight/mass of and supported by the tool arm 300 is supported and thedownward force of the roller 396 is reduced in order to prevent soilcompaction and excess lowering of the tool arm, while also maintainenough downward force and system responsiveness to follow the elevationof the soil surface of the bed 52 being worked.

For example, in an illustrative embodiment, a continuous regulatedhydraulic pressure of 600 psi provided to a first port of lift hydrauliccylinder 346 that provides upward movement of the backbone 350, and acontinuous regulated hydraulic pressure of 200 psi provided to a secondport of lift hydraulic cylinder 346 that provides downward movement ofthe backbone 350, provides a desired ‘float,’ i.e. upward offset orrelief of the weight of and supported by the tool bar 300, to provideresponsive following of the working surface 58 by the ground follower390 and thus the tool arm 300 and supported tool attachments 400, whilealso preventing excessive compaction of the working surface 58 by theground follower 390, which would extend the working tools downwardbeyond a desired height relative to the working surface 58.

Furthermore, in the illustrative embodiment, the control system 200receives data from one or more pressure sensors 222 for measuring thehydraulic pressure at the first and the second port, or the differentialhydraulic pressure, along with receiving data from the height sensor398, which together are used by the control system 200 to activelyregulate one of the continuous differential hydraulic pressure betweenthe first and second port, or the continuous regulated pressure appliedto the first port, in order to maintain the tool arm 300 and supportedtool attachments 400 at a desired height along the z-axis 96 relative tothe working surface 58. In one embodiment, a proportional hydraulicvalve 170 controlled by the control system 200 controls a continuous butvariable hydraulic pressure to the first port, feedback of that pressureis provided by the pressure sensor 222, and the continuous regulatedbackside pressure to the second port is preset and not variablycontrolled. An advantage in responsiveness and precision in desiredheight of the tool arm 300 over a working surface 58 having variedconditions and varied elevation is provided over prior art designs bythe combination of the continuous and regulated downward pressuresupplied to the second port, and the continuous variably controlledupward pressure supplied to the first port of the lift hydrauliccylinder 346. In one illustrative embodiment, a separate proportionalhydraulic valve 170 and pressure sensor 222 is used for each of thetools arms 300 and hydraulic cylinders 346. In one illustrativeembodiment, the control system 200 incorporates a low pass filter to theheight control data from the height sensor 398, and/or other damping tothe control of the height of the tool arm 300. In another illustrativeembodiment, the lever 392 is fixedly mounted to the backbone 350.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, a vision module 500 includes modulehousing 504 which can be precisely coupled to backbone 350 by mountinginterface 502 and precision mounting features 364, for example preciselylocated threaded bores and/or locator pins, within a protected visionmodule receiving area 362. The vision module 500 also includes a pair oflamps 506 coupled to vision module housing 504 by lamp mounts 508. Inthe illustrative embodiment, the lamps 506 are of sufficient intensityto greatly reduce or eliminate the effects of sunlight and resultingshadows that may otherwise be experienced by vision module 500 andassociated perception system 270.

In the illustrated embodiment, camera 510 and optics 516 are packagedwith a cylindrical vision module housing 514 and optional module housinglens protector 522.

The correlation of locations and distances within captured images iscritical to determining the timing of when to open and close tools 510to avoid a commodity plant 60 which has been identified in an imagecaptured a known distance ahead of the tools 410. To improve thecorrelation of the location of the commodity plant with the actuation oftools 410, it has been found advantageous to take into account fixed,variable, and asynchronous processes relating to detecting andcorrelating a commodity plant with the machine-relative coordinatespace. For example, applying an image timestamp upon the perceptionsystem 270 receiving the first data packet containing part of a newimage from the vision module 500, and applying a timestamp to data fromthe odometer encoder 232 based on the midpoint time between the datarequest and the receipt of the data.

An example of the coordinate space and tracking of the location ofobjects of interest and the tools 510 in the coordinate space can beunderstood from FIG. 5, which correlate to the change in relativelocation of the objects of interest, e.g. commodity plant 60 and weeds70, and the tool blades 414 as the implement 100 traverses the plantline 62. Each pair of plant lines 62 in a field of view in theillustrative embodiment correlates to the x-axis 90 and y-axis 92dimensions of the coordinate space, divided along each axis into adesired level of pixel or bin resolution that corresponding relates tothe images and actual distances imaged and traversed.

Referring to FIG. 9, optionally the tool platform 370 of tool arm 300may include a device for adjusting or actuating tool attachment 400relative to backbone 350, for example a z-axis linear slide table 380 asshown in the illustrative embodiment. One reason to include adjustmentfor each separate tool attachment is due to variations found incommodity fields 50 among different plant lines 62 within the same bed52 a. For example, depending on the formation and environmentalconditions such as compaction and erosion of bed 52 a, individual plantlines 62 may vary in height. For example, there may be a crest acrossthe bed 52 a such that plant lines on one part of the bed are at a lowerelevation than plant lines on another part of the bed, which also mayvary from the relative elevation of the furrows within which wheelassemblies 120 of the chassis 102 ride.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, an illustrative tool attachment 400 canbe modularly and precisely coupled to tool arms 300. Base 402 is coupledto the tool arm 300, for example, to tool platform 370 or optionalz-axis linear slide table 380. A crop or field working tool actuator,for example, actuator 420 of tool attachment 400, can be a hydraulicallydriven actuator that includes housing 430 coupled to base 402 via alower pivot coupling 408 and a pneumatic damper 422.

In the illustrated example shown in FIG. 9, the tool arm 300 cultivatestwo adjacent plant lines 62; therefore, each tool arm 300 includes apair of tool attachments 400, one for each plant line 62. The toolplatforms 370 on the left and right side of backbone 350 are spacedalong the x-axis 90 so that the distance between the two toolattachments 400 matches the distance between plant lines 62.Additionally, the illustrative tool arm 300 is equipped with staticmounts 302 which have attached static cultivators 304, each positionedto cultivate and clear weeds located within the space 72 between plantlines 62.

As discussed earlier above, illustrative tool attachments 400 includetools 410 for cultivating the space 74 between adjacent commodity plants60 within plant line 62. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, actuator 420 is in anormal and failsafe position in which arms 412 and blades 414 ofcultivating tools 410 are spread apart a distance sufficient so that theblades traverse the open space 74 between plant lines 62, as illustratedin FIG. 5 and do not contact the root or other portion of commodityplant 60. Upon actuation of tools 410 by actuator 420, shafts 466extending through covers 432 of the housing 430, and upon which arms 412are attached by mounting features 468, rotate in a synchronize fashionto translate blades 414 into close proximity, thereby cultivate thespace 72 between the commodity plants 60 within the plant line 62.

The actuation of tools 410 provided by the actuator 420 is advantageousin that the movement of the tools 410 are synchronized and provide atransition time between the open and close positions that can beadjustable by an electronic solenoid controlled valve 426, for example,a proportional flow valve set by controller 202 and/or input at HMI 204,and/or a flow regulator 428 (not shown), located directly at housing 430in the illustrative embodiment to reduce latency and other undesirablecharacteristics with more remote activation. Additionally, actuator 420provides a slow initial and final speed and ramping up and down frominitial and final speed to the transition speed to avoid impulse likeaccelerations and decelerations, thereby greatly reducing or eliminatingany harmonic induced or other vibrations of arms 412 and blades 414 andalso greatly reducing or eliminating disturbance of soil that coulddamage the commodity plants 60, including from throwing soil onto thecommodity plants, as with prior designs, which can inhibit growth and orinduce spoilage.

Referring to FIG. 4A, in one illustrative embodiment of implement 100, asecond and third set of tools arms 300 are provided by coupling toolbarextensions 107 to each end of the toolbar 106 of chassis 102.Advantageously, the frame 110, wheel assemblies 120, hydraulic system150, electrical system 180, and control system 200 have all been sizedto accommodate the added loads of three sets of on or more tool arms300, thereby reducing the number of passes required to completecultivation of a commodity field 50 by a factor of three.

Referring to FIG. 12, a schematic block diagram illustrates aspects ofelectrical system 180, including control system 200. Control system 200can includes a ruggedized controller 202, for example, an X90 mobilecontroller available from B&R Industrial Automation of Roswell, Ga., anda machine vision/perception computer 270, including a graphics processor(GPU) 272 such as a TX2i available from NVIDIA Corp. of Santa Clara,Calif. Controller 202 provides overall machine control of implement 100,and perception computer 270 includes processing of images received fromvision module 500, including a neural network, for example, aconvolutional neural network (CNN) for AI processing of images andoptionally other data to classify, locate, and bound objects ofinterest, including at least commodity plants 60, and optionally otherobjects, including for example, weeds 70 and debris (not shown), and toprovide a confidence level associated with the classification and/orbounding. Classification of objects of interest may include the plant orweed variety, health, for example, including a disease state/type, andother attributes in the art that are knowable optically. Alternatively,a single computing unit may be substituted and provide the machinecontrol, image, and AI processing. Also alternatively, some or all ofthe functions provided by one or both of the machine controller 202 andperception computer 270 may be provided by the vision module 500. Theperception computer 270 may also include pre-processing of images priorto processing by the CNN, and/or post-processing of data resulting fromthe CNN processing of images.

In some implementations or selected use of implement 100, control of thetool attachment 400 may only require processing of objects classified asthe commodity plant of interest, in other implementations or selecteduse, control may only require processing of objects classified as weedsor a set of weed types, and in yet another implementation or selecteduse, control may require processing of both commodity plants and weeds.For example, depending on whether the attached tool attachment 400 isbeing used for weeding, thinning, or application of chemicals, includingselectively on one or both of commodity plants and weeds.

Control system 200 also includes various controls 230, generallyinterfaced with controller 202, for example via a wireless or wiredlocal area network (LAN) 206, for example, Ethernet. Controls 230 mayinclude HMI 204, for example a touchscreen display device, and variousinput sensors, including a tilt sensor/inclinometer 234, odometerencoder 236 mounted with axle 124 (FIG. 5), side shift position switchor encoder 238, and various hydraulic pressure sensors 212-222. Controlsystem 200 also includes output controls, generally controlled bycontroller 202, including valves controlling hydraulic actuators,including cylinders, discussed above. Machine controller 202 thusgenerally controls actuator 420 to close and open cultivator tools 410around commodity plants 60, side shift of tool arms 300 to maintainalignment of the tool attachments 400 with plant lines 60, pitch controlof blades 414 via control of gauge wheels height, controlling the heightof tool arms 300 to maintain proper blade depth 414, and to lift and/orcenter tools arms 300 in a transit mode when raising of implement 100 isdetected.

Perception computer 270 provides the image processing, includingbounding, classification, confidence, and location mapping of objects ofinterest, including commodity plants 60, to implement the generalprocess illustrated by FIG. 4 and discussed further above, includingproviding the data necessary for some of the processes controlled bycontroller 202, including the closing and opening of the cultivatortools 410 around commodity plants 60, and side shifting of the tool arms300 to maintain alignment of the tool attachments 400 with plant lines60. To do this, perception computer 270 provides generally AI enabledobject detection, and maps the detected objects to a relative coordinatespace derived from timestamping of displacement data from the odometerencoder 236, image timestamping, and determination of objects ofinterest, including the centerline of plant lines 62 relative to visionmodule 500, and thus relative to the tool attachments 400.

Advantageously, the operation of implement 100 is not dependent on GPSor other such absolute or geographic positioning data or systems and canfunction solely using the relative positions of the plant lines 62 andthe commodity plants 60 detected by the perception computer 270.Advantageously, the operation of the control system 200, includingperception computer 270 and controller 202, may be autonomous in that itdoes not require remote data or computer resources; however, a local orremote wireless or wide area network (WAN) connection 208 may be used toremotely monitor, update, or to optionally supplement the data andcomputing resources of the control system 200.

An illustrative HMI for setup of control system 200 can includeselecting a commodity plant type, a unit of measurement, and the spacingbetween commodity plants 62 with the plant line 60 and the spacingbetween adjacent plant lines 60.

An illustrative HMI can include entering the distance from the blades414 of each tool attachment 400 to the center of field of view of thecamera module 500 on that tool arm 300. Other configuration relating tothe tool attachment 400 can include timing information relating to thecycling of the blades 414 through their range of motion. Otherconfiguration information includes cooling fan 118 temperature trigger,pressure limit settings and delay and transition times for the actuationup and down for the tool arms 300, odometer 336 calibration for rearwheel 126, ground pressure backside and wheels threshold.

An illustrative HMI can includes the overall status of control system200, voltage of electrical system 180, hydraulic oil pressure andtemperature, and settings selected on setup page 242. Additional controlsettings that can be selected include the distance prior to plant centerto open tool 410, the distance after plant center to close tool 410,machine angle, which sets the pitch of blades 414, and a percent ofground pressure, which relates to how much the tool arm 300 lifthydraulic cylinder 346 lightens the weight of the tool arm 300 appliedto the ground by ground follower 390. And finally, a system start/stopselection and a tool arm lift/lower selection is provided.

An HMI 204 can also provide a selectable real-time view from each visionmodule 500 and an alarm page.

Advantageously each vision module 500, which in the illustrativeembodiment includes one camera 510, is centered between two plant lines60 and has a sufficient field of view for typical spacing between plantlines 60 in beds 52 b to have within its field of view and process theclassification, confidence, location, and/or bounds for up to at leasttwo plant lines 60 simultaneously. Tracking two plant lines 60 by asingle camera and image not only reduces hardware requirements, but alsoprovides for more precise plant line following than is provided by onecamera centered on and tracking each plant line. Additionally, forembodiments that limit each camera 510 to tracking two plant lines,instead of tracking all plant lines 60 in a bed 52 b, better resolution,precision, and data collection is provided by the vision module 50.

Lamps 506 are strobed at an intensity near sunlight levels to minimizethe impact of variations in sunlight and on shadows that dependent onenvironmental conditions and time of day. The set of images and data totrain the CNN used with perception computer 270 can nonetheless includeimages taken in various environmental conditions and times to day toimprove functionality.

For commodity plants 60 and optionally other objects that are classifiedand for which a location, bounding, and confidence level is desired, theimage timestamp is matched to data from the odometer 232 for thattimestamp, or, to save communication and computing bandwidth for theodometer, odometer data can be interpolated from the odometer dataspanning the image timestamp. The odometer location of the plant can bedetermined from the timestamp, for example, by offsetting the odometerlocation based on the conversion from pixels that the plant is from thecenter of the field of view of the image. Finally, the odometer dataincrement at which the plant will be located at the location of blades414 can then be determined by knowing the odometer distance between thecenter of the field of view of the image and thus camera 510 and theblades 414.

Alternatively, the location mapping of the commodity plants 60 can bedone based on odometer and pixel conversions to real world measurementcoordinate space, or to a different, even arbitrary measurement andlocation base for a coordinate space, as long as it correlates to thereal world location of the camera 510, blades 414, and plants 60.Additionally, image flow of objects between consecutive images can beprocessed by perception computer 270 to determine speed and relativedistances/locations over time, including when plants 60 will be locatedat blades 414 without requiring the use of data from an odometer 236.

Because the systems of implement 100 are designed to be automatic oncecalibrated and set up, for example, including detecting plant lines 62,side shifting tool arms 300 to follow the plant lines, and to completethe selected working operation, such as weeding, on the field 50,advantageously no added in-cab controls are required for monitoring oroperating implement 100. The HMI 204 is generally located on theimplement 100 and any in-cab controls on the tractor 40 are optional,for example via a wireless device, for example a tablet computer orother handheld or mounted touch screen device, including for optionalin-cab observation, changing settings, or initiating or ceasingoperation; however, all that is required from tractor 40 to operateimplement 100 is navigating across field 50 and raising and lowering thechassis 102 at the beginning and end of the plant lines 62.

The control system 200, including machine controller 202 and perceptionsystem 270, can perform the processing and control to providingautonomous working of the plant lines 62. For example, the processingand control includes, but not limited to, detecting plant lines 62;centering tool arms 300 on plant lines 62; classifying, assigningconfidence, bounding, locating and tracking objects of interest,including optional pre-/post-processing functions known in the art;following the working surface 58 using lift cylinder 346 of tool arm300, and operating the tool attachment 400 to perform the workingoperation for the plant lines 62.

Upon reaching the end of the plant lines 62, the implement 100 is liftedup off the wheels by the tractor 40 pulling the implement. The controlsystem 200 responds by switching from the operate mode to transit mode.In transit mode, control system 200 ceases various operations controlledby machine controller 202 and perception system 270, including detectingplant lines 62, following the working surface 58 with lift cylinder 346,and the operation of the tool attachment 400. Additionally, any resetfunctions are completed, for example, recentering the tools arms 300 viaside-shift actuator 176. If the field 50 is not yet completed, then theprocess continues at step 714 with aligning the implement 100 at thestart of additional plant lines 62 and lowering the implement.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in theforegoing drawings and description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown and described andthat all changes and modifications that come within the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined in the claims and summary are desired to beprotected.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST 40 Tractor 50 Commodity Field 52a Prior Art Bed52b New Bed 54 Bed Width 56 Furrow 58 Working Surface/Field-of-View 60Commodity Plant 62 Line 64 Line Spacing 10″ 66 Plant Spacing 10′ 70Weeds 72 Space Between Lines 74 Space Between Plants 80 Plant Center 82Space Before 84 Space After 90 X-Axis 92 Y-Axis 94 Z-Axis 100Agricultural Implement 102 Chassis 104 Front Crossbar 106 RearCrossbar/Toolbar 107 Toolbar Extension 108 End Plate 110 Frame 112Thrust Plates 114 Cover 116 Hood 118 Tool Mounts [static cultivators]120 Wheel Assembly 122 Support Brackets 123 Opening 124 Rear Axle 126Rear Wheel 128 Front Axle 130 Front Wheel/Gauge 132 Front Cantilever 134Pivot 136 Thrust Plates 138 Wheel Span 140 Hitch Receiver 142 BottomHitch Clevis 144 Vertical Slot 146 Top Hitch Clevis 148 Horizontal Slot150 Hydraulic System 152 PTO Driven Pump 154 Hydraulic Motor 156Reservoir 158 Oil Cooler 160 Manifold 162 Accumulator 164 Main Regulator166 Side Shift Regulator 168 Tool Actuator Regulator 170 Tool Arm LiftValves 172 Gauge/Pitch Actuator 174 Gauge Wheel Valve 176 Side ShiftActuator 178 Side Shift Valve 180 Electrical System 182 Alternator 184Power Distribution/Regulation 186 Battery 188 Oil Cooler Fans 190 SafetyStrut 192 Safety Support 194 Pivots 196 Plant line Alignment Bar 198Threaded Rod/Screw 199 Rod Coupling 200 Control System 201 Enclosure 202Machine Controller 204 HMI 206 LAN (Ethernet/Bus) 208 WAN Connection 210Hydraulic Controls 212 PTO Pump Pressure 214 System Pressure 216 MotorPressure 218 Gauge Cyl. Pressure Switch 220 Side Shift Press 222Lift-Upside Press 230 Electric Controls 232 Odometer Encoder 234Inclinometer 238 Side Shift Position 240 Touch Screen 242 Setup Page 244Configuration 246 Control 248 Camera View 270 Perception System 272 GPU274 Ruggedized Housing 280 Convolutional Neural Network 282 Input 284Output 286 Post Processing 288 Plant Map 290 Training 300 Modular SmartTool Arm 302 Static Mounts 304 Static Cultivators 306 Raised Position308 Lowered Position 310 Mount 312 Sides 314 Back Span 316 Front Span318 Toolbar Passage 320 Clamp 322 Guides 324 Bore 326 Sleeves 328Adjustment Nut 330 Articulating Base 332 Linear X-Axis Slide Table 334Linear Bearings 338 Brackets 339 Alignment Bar Opening 340 Pivots 342Bottom Linkage 344 Top Linkage 346 Lift Hydraulic Cylinder 348 TopCantilever 350 Backbone 352 Billet 354 Base End 356 Linkage Mounts 358Tool End 360 Tool Mount 362 Vision Module Receiving Area 364 PrecisionMount Features 366 Ground Follower Mount 370 Tool Platform 372 Toolbar374 Tool Mount 376 Precision Locator Features 380 Z-Axis Linear SlideTable 382 Linear Guides 384 Table 386 Adjust 388 Lock 390 GroundFollower 392 Lever 394 Stop 396 Roller 398 Height Sensor 399 Lever Pivot400 Tool Attachment 402 Base 404 Mounting Features 406 Bracket 408 Pivot410 tools-Cultivator 412 Arm 414 Blade 416 Pitch Angle 418 A/BOpen/Close Position 420 Actuator 422 Pneumatic Damper 426 ProportionalSolenoid Valve 428 Flow Regulator 430 Housing 432 Cover 434 Cavity 436Bearing 440 Actuator Shuttle 442 Rack Teeth 444 Ends 446 Larger Bore 448Bore End 450 Smaller Bore 452 Bore End 460 Pinion Gear 462 Body 464Teeth 466 Shaft 468 Tool Mounting Features 470 Plug 471 Shoulder 472Stem 474 Piston Head 476 Sealing Areas 478 Valve Receiver Bore 480 FluidChannel 482 Recess/Supply Area 488 Spring 490 Valve 492 Valve Shaft 494Bevel 496 Port 498 Valve Seat 500 Vision Module 502 Mounting Interface504 Module Housing 506 Lamps 508 Lamp Mounting 510 Camera 512Electronics Package 514 Connectors 516 Optical Lens 518 Dust Lens 520Optics Housing 522 Module Housing Lens Protector

1. An agricultural implement, comprising: a chassis; a toolbar coupledto the chassis; a plurality of articulating tool arms, each of theplurality of tool arms including: a mount for coupling each of theplurality of tool arm to the toolbar; a backbone member including a toolattachment platform and a machine vision module; a base moveablycoupling the backbone member to the mount, the base providing movementof the backbone member in at least two axes relative to the mount; and alift actuator coupled between the base and the backbone member providingvertical movement of the backbone member; and an alignment memberoperably coupled to the chassis and to the base to provide movement ofthe plurality of articulating tool arms along an axis parallel thelongitudinal axis of to the toolbar; and a control system forcontrolling the movement of the plurality of tools arms; and wherein thetool attachment platform releasably receives at least one toolattachment controllable by the control system and the machine visionmodule to work at least one of a crop and a field.
 2. An agriculturalimplement for commodity plants, comprising: a chassis a toolbar coupledto the chassis; a control system; and a plurality of articulating toolarms each including: a mount for securing one of the plurality ofarticulating tool arms to the toolbar; a backbone member; at least onetool releasably coupled to the backbone member; and a base moveablycoupling the backbone member to the mount; and a machine vision modulecoupled with the backbone member and in communication with the controlsystem; and wherein the control system operably controls movement ofeach backbone member relative to the mount and the toolbar, and operablycontrols the at least one tool.